Although founded as a collège classique (the forerunners of Quebec's college system), Loyola began granting university degrees through Université Laval in 1903.

In 1934, Sir George Williams College offered the first undergraduate credit course in adult education in Canada.

Sir George Williams College received its university charter from the provincial government in 1948, though it remained the education arm of the Montreal YMCA.

Notably in spring 1968, six black West Indian students at Sir George Williams University accused a biology lecturer (later assistant professor) of racism.

The students occupied and destroyed the Hall Building's ninth floor computer lab after threatening to do so should the riot squad be called.

[21] Criticized for the difficulties encountered by the cohesion of the various departments and faculties, this option was set aside, but not totally rejected by the Joint Steering Committee.

[22] "When you join together two lively institutions, each with its own philosophies and ways of doing things, each firmly dedicated to freedom of thought and speech, you must expect a measure of friction.

On August 24, 1992, Valery Fabrikant, a mechanical engineering professor, shot five colleagues, killing four, on the ninth floor of the Hall Building.

In 2005, the university launched a major urban redevelopment project in the neighbourhood surrounding the Sir George Williams Campus, known as the Quartier Concordia.

In September 2015, the university held a ribbon cutting for the District 3 Innovation Center's new space on the sixth floor of Concordia's Faubourg Building.

On September 2, 2014, the Library opened the Grey Nuns Reading Room, a silent study space for Concordia students located in the former Chapel of the Invention of the Holy Cross.

When Sir George Williams University and Loyola College merged to form Concordia in 1974, their respective art collections were also combined.

The collection of the Leonard and Bina Ellen Gallery consists of 1,800 paintings, sculptures, prints, photographs and videos, many of the works by 20th-century Canadian artists.

[33] In 2001, Concordia embarked on a mission to develop and expand the quality of the downtown campus, and to revive the west end in Montreal.

The university also acquired the historic Grey Nuns Mother House near its Sir George Williams Campus,[34] for $18 million.

The large property will house the Faculty of Fine Arts and possibly the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, and other departments.

The building is directly connected to the Guy–Concordia Metro station and also houses Le Gym, a facility of Concordia's Department of Recreation and Athletics.

At a ceremony at Concordia on October 30, 2006, the Quebec Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports, Jean-Marc Fournier, announced an investment of $60 million towards the construction of the new building.

The $63.1-million state-of-the-art facility — built thanks to $36.7 million in support from the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec — was strategically designed to enable interdisciplinary collaboration and research between faculty and students in the Faculty of Arts and Science, Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science as well as the District 3 Innovation Centre.

Concordia's co-op programs enable students to enrich their learning by participating in career-relevant 12–17-week full-time, paid work terms.

Depending on their faculty and major, co-op students will usually graduate with a minimum of 12 months of academically relevant work experience.

Teams of students representing their universities must build a 1-metre-long bridge using only regular popsicle sticks, toothpicks, dental floss, and white glue.

The John Molson School of Business (formerly the Faculty of Commerce and Administration) offers 18 different programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels from five different departments.

According to the university webpage the bond will "generate environmental and social benefits as defined by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals".

[96] According to Denis Cossette, the university's chief financial officer, "the $25-million senior unsecured bond offers investors a 3.626 per cent yield and has a duration of 20 years."

[7] Another noteworthy aspect of Concordia University is the number of longstanding fee-levy groups which provide numerous services, funded by the student population in the form of per-credit fees.

These include the People's Potato, which offers a four-course vegan meal, the anti-capitalist grocery store The Frigo Vert, and the Coop Bookstore.

The strike lasted from November 3 to 5 and targeted a range of issues, including student representation in the university senate, corporate presence and advertising on campus, and government.

[115] On September 9, 2002, a scheduled speech from the former (and later subsequent) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was cancelled following violent pro-Palestinian riots inside the Henry F. Hall Building.

[116] Protestors raised concerns about Israeli human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, namely in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.